-Wednesday Morning-
Matt Kanz
Matt Kanz is the Senior Vice President of Co-Manufacturing & Operational Excellence with Jack Link’s. Prior to this promotion, he served for nearly 3 years as the SVP of HR North America where he led all aspects of Human Resources. In this new role, Matt is tapping into his 20 plus years of change leadership to help drive sustainable change throughout the entire organization. Matt’s passion lies in unlocking others’ potential to solve their own complex opportunities because sustainment is just as much internal as it is external.
-Wednesday Afternoon-
Kim Bremmer
Kim Bremmer grew up on a dairy farm in central Wisconsin and is a mother of two, graduate of UW-Madison and was an on-farm dairy nutrition consultant for almost 15 years. She started Ag Inspirations LLC in 2015 and has been advocating for farmers as a professional speaker, traveling across the country as well as internationally. She is passionate about protecting the use of science, technology, and innovation in how we grow and raise food. Kim is also the Executive Director of Venture Dairy Cooperative, a new third-party milk verification co-op, qualified through USDA, where she advocates on policy to help protect farmers and promote the future of dairy in Wisconsin. She serves on the Executive Advisory Council for the American Dairy Coalition and the Advisory Board for Dairy Discovery at Swisslane Farms in Alto, Michigan. Kim is the president of Wisconsin Women for Agriculture and a regular contributor on Rural Route Radio. She is also an elected director for her county Farm Bureau, as well as the local affairs chair.
Thursday Morning- Panel Hosted by Sonoco
The Timeless Legacy of the Metal Food Can: Navigating Challenges and Opportunities in the Year Ahead
Elizabeth Rhue
VP of Global Environmental, Sustainability, & Technical Services, Sonoco
Elizabeth Rhue, Vice President of Global Environmental, Sustainability, and Technical Services is responsible for leading Sonoco’s global sustainability programs and environmental services for all of the Company’s Consumer- and Industrial-related packaging businesses, including working directly with Sonoco’s key customers and business leaders to achieve improved product sustainability and environmental footprint for Sonoco’s operations. In addition, Elizabeth’s team is responsible for environmental compliance, product safety and Sonoco’s consumer packaging pilot facilities, testing labs, and design engineering services.
Sherrie Rosenblatt
VP of marketing & Communications, Can Manufacturers Institute
Sherrie Rosenblatt is managing director of the Canned Good Coalition, a group of food can manufacturers and canned food companies, formed to build awareness around the sustainability attributes of the steel food can, while also building preference for canned food. She is also vice president of marketing and communications and lead strategy officer for the Can Manufacturers Institute, where she develops and implements campaigns that target consumers, food and beverage manufacturers, and retailers. Rosenblatt has nearly 40 years of food marketing and communications trade association experience.
-Thursday Afternoon-
Brig. Gen. Rob Palmer, U.S. Air Force Reserve (Retired)
Rob Palmer grew up in the small town of Plainfield, Indiana. He enjoyed an idyllic childhood, filled with piano lessons, 4-H, and mowing lawns for spending money. Like all good Hoosiers, he had a basketball goal in his driveway, but since the driveway was gravel, he never mastered dribbling or shooting lay-ups.
After graduating from Plainfield High School, the home of the Fighting Quakers, he attended The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, to ensure that he received a maximum security college experience. After meeting the requirements for graduation, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Indiana Army National Guard, where he served as a Field Artillery and Public Affairs officer. In 2003, he sought bluer skies and transferred to the Air Force Reserve, and in 2005, he accepted an active duty Reserve assignment in Washington, D.C. He held positions of increasing responsibility as a lieutenant colonel and colonel, and in 2019, he defied all odds by being nominated for promotion to brigadier general.
Since most National Guardsmen and Reservists need real jobs so they can pay their mortgages, Rob worked for three construction trade associations in Indianapolis and spent a year as a constituent affairs staffer in the district office of a Member of Congress. After leaving active duty in 2015, Rob worked as a lobbyist for an insurance company, which is a heck of a way to make a living, but it beats getting a real job. In early 2023, Rob retired from the Air Force Reserve in a ceremony at The Citadel that was attended by friends, family, coworkers, and twelve Citadel classmates, one of whom Rob doesn’t remember.
In 1993, Rob met his future wife, Kim Wasserman, in the cattle barn at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and they were married in 1996 in a church, not a barn. Rob and Kim have two sons, Grant and Andrew. Grant graduated from DePaul University this past summer and works in the entertainment industry in Nashville, Tennessee doing things that Rob almost understands. Andrew is in his third year as an outstanding cadet at The Citadel, which Rob completely understands because he had friends who were outstanding cadets.
Innovation Showcase
Gather on Thursday, late morning, near the Main Stage for great information regarding newer technologies available to food processors.
Topics to be announced soon!